16
by Fernachos
Summary: It would be her second best day ever, only topped by being accepted into Beacon. Today would be wonderful. It would be exciting. It would be indescribable. This was the day she had waited for.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** Hey all. This idea was in my head and I had to get it out. Then I developed it. I originally wanted it to be a one-shot, then it sorta spiralled out of control to be slightly longer than that, so this'll be a 5-part series, updated every week! Every week cuz that's actually manageable.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters involved, with the exception of the four minor OCs and the story.

 **16**

 _*beep beep beep*_

The alarm jostled her from her sleep. She turned to the side to reach her scroll and turn the alarm off. Slowly, silver eyes opened with fatigue, then widened at the display screen.

Her body shot up, rigid as a board. Today was the day! She couldn't wait! Today would be exciting and fun and awesome! Hurriedly, she crawled out of her sleeping bag and got changed as fast as possible, while trying not to wake the others in the confined space of their tent. Unfortunately, that left little room to maneuver, and she just **had** to trip over something while putting her combat boots on.

"Ow!" she yelped as her bottom hit the floor. The nearly immovable object sluggishly turned to face her. The lilac of her irises could hardly be seen through the mess of golden locks, but the irritation at the rude awakening was still there.

"Ruby? What're you doing up so early?" the half-asleep mess asked.

"Sorry Yang! I just woke up to my alarm and then went to shut it off, then I saw the date! Guess what day it is!" Ruby exuberantly sped through her explanation in a hushed tone, so as to not cause any more disturbances.

Yang furrowed her brows, thinking hard. Then like a lightbulb, it struck her. ""It's the day we get back to Beacon!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. Yang tried again, "It's Saturday!" she smirked lazily.

Typical Yang. She did this every time there was an important day: either feign obliviousness or give a more simplistic answer.

"Aaaaaaaaanndddd?"

Yang blew some hair from her face and slowly sat up. Her lopsided grin evolved into a caring smile as she stretched her arms out towards her sister. Eagerly, Ruby leapt into those arms. Those strong arms that comforted her in hard times and congratulated her in times of triumph. They both couldn't help but smile warmly.

"Happy birthday Ruby." Yang whispered into her sister's hair.

"Thanks Yang!" came the muffled reply. They both giggled at the tender, sisterly moment they shared. Despite everything, they still had each other. Family truly was the strongest of bonds.

Sadly, the moment didn't last long.

"It's your birthday?!"

The sisters quickly exited from their hug. A little too quickly, as they both ended up sprawled on the floor. Turning towards the sound, they looked up to see an irate young woman in a white combat skirt and bolero. Her ice-blue eyes were fatigued from keeping watch the past few hours. Her off-centered ponytail swayed back and forth with the shaking of her head. Her arms were on her hips in a confrontational pose and her slightly unbalanced stance subconsciously asked, ' _Really?'_ Clearly, she was cross with the two dunces in front of her.

"Hey Weiss! How was patrol?" Yang asked, sincerely curious as to how it went while also attempting to redirect the conversation.

The heiress raised one eyebrow at the question. The blonde quickly closed her mouth, smiling sheepishly.

Ruby stepped in, "Wait, you didn't know about my birthday?" her voice was innocent, but there was a slight hurt tone in it.

Weiss turned to her partner, her gaze softening quickly. She had learned a lot about her team in the past year, "Ruby, you haven't told me about it. You've never mentioned that at all."

Ruby quizzically examined her partner, then turned to her sister for the answer. Yang's guilty smile didn't falter the whole time, but grew larger. Her scratching the back of her head put the proverbial nail in the coffin.

"Heh… oops?"

"YANG! YOU NEVER TOL-Mfmfffm?!" a hand covered her mouth from continuing the rebuke. The reaper stood puzzled, then turned to see her partner, with icy scorn in her eyes and a finger on her lips: the universal sign for quiet.

"Don't yell! Blake's still asleep, remember?" she whispered, all while still covering Ruby's mouth.

Nobody could see Ruby's reaction, what with her partner still covering her mouth, but she pouted, then grinned, then proceeded to lick Weiss' hand, causing the heiress to release her grip and shriek at a very loud volume and ungodly high pitch.

"What the HELL Ruby?!" she screamed, her earlier remark about being quiet completely forgotten. Frantically, she wiped the slobbered hand on her skirt, repeatedly exclaiming, "ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew…"

Ruby grinned triumphantly while Yang guffawed at the scene before her. A loud sigh came from behind the trio. All three turned slowly to see amber eyes looking upon them with both annoyance and endearment.

"Since we're all up, we might as well get out of bed. And yes, I heard everything."

Blake smirked at their various expressions of paled or blushing faces, awkward smiles, and the one pulled-over hood of embarrassment.

"She started it!" the three pointed at each other in a triangle, causing Blake to shake her head in amusement.

"Let's get some breakfast."

Ruby looked at the meager portions in front of her: some rations with a small pile of berries and edible nuts. This was her birthday breakfast?

"Very funny guys, so where's the real breakfast?" she asked. Of course this was a prank on her team's part! Where was the beef jerky? And what about the snacks they normally brought on missions?

"This **is** the real breakfast Ruby. We never had time to pack the normal supplies, remember?" Weiss jogged her memory. The mission was pretty last minute now that she thought about it. Ruby groaned. It was gonna be a long day, what with a small meal like that. There wasn't even milk or juice! Wait, where would they keep a fridge though… Well they should've at least brought a pack of cookies dammit!

"You ate your cookies on the way here… and you're talking out loud Rubes…" Yang told her.

Ruby blinked in surprise. Yes, it was going to be a long day indeed.

"At least we found some strawberries," Blake tried to stay positive. Yeah, they did find strawberries despite being in the wilderness, so it wasn't that bad. She smiled at the cat Faunus, "Good point! Thanks Blake! Although, I do wish I was back with dad and uncle Qrow…"

Yang chuckled, "You're just thinking about the feast at home, aren't you?"

"What kind of breakfast did you two have on your birthdays?" Weiss asked.

Yang went on to explain the feast they would prepare. Birthday breakfasts at home with her dad, uncle and sister were legendary. There was eggs, fried, boiled, scrambled, or poached at the request of whoever's birthday it was, lightly seasoned with the celebrant's choice; a heap of fried bacon and sausage; not to mention the mountain of pancakes or waffles their father would make, along with their choice of toppings; be it syrup, whipped cream, chocolate chips, or ice cream. Four collective growls sounded after the explanation.

"Ugggh, you're just making it worse!" cried Ruby, as she started to dig into her rations. Big or not, food was food, and she wasn't gonna be picky, especially while she was on a mission. The four of them ate at a rapid pace, trying to forget the delicious sounding breakfast Yang had described.

After finishing and cleaning up, they waited and talked to pass the time away.

"Hey Ruby, remember that one time we had cake for breakfast?" Yang asked her sister.

Weiss and Blake looked at her incredulously.

"How could I forget that?! It was the best breakfast ever!" she recalled with gusto, a contented sigh escaping her lips.

"Yeah, that was good." Yang reminisced wistfully.

Weiss' eyebrow twitched. Blake's eyebrow disappeared behind her fringe. The discussion-turned-argument-turned-screaming-match they had over the nutritional merits of birthday cake as a meal scared off small Grimm and animal alike, and even woke up their charges.

"WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT CAKE?! I AIN'T GOT NO CAKE! I AIN'T NO BAKER! THE CAKE IS A LIE!" The old man shouted, bursting out of the tent adjacent to the Huntresses-in-training's, brandishing a frying pan as his weapon of choice. All four were a mix of ashamed and embarrassed. Their mission was to protect this man and his family for their journey towards Vale, and here they were, talking about such mundane things, as well as disturbing the little amount of peace they had outside the Kingdom's borders. To say they felt bad was an understatement. It would have had a lasting impression on them. That is, if the man's wife didn't throw her shoes at the back of his head, knocking him out.

"SHADDUP FAUST! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!" came the shriek of the elderly woman from the same tent.

Team RWBY could only stare in awkwardness at the spectacle. After about two minutes, a middle-aged man and woman came out of the tent with contented sighs and smiles on their lips. Their apparel wasn't the finest, having lived outside the ensured safety of the kingdom, but they were not poor either. The man turned towards the teens eating breakfast, "Sorry about that. Father always was a little senile to begin with…"

"…then he just got worse as he got older!" the woman finished, giggling with mirth.

"That's okay. Sorry to wake you up, Mr. and Mrs. Feirdon." Ruby replied, making sure to emphasize their apology. They _did_ start the conundrum.

"Oh it's quite alright Ruby, and call us Jorum and Donna. No need for formalities here!" Jorum began, "Besides, the earlier we wake up, the farther ground we'll cover anyhow, so it's good you woke us up when you did." He surmised optimistically.

"What say we continue after we've given Mother and Father their breakfast?" Donna Feirdon suggested.

"Or, we could just keep travelling while they sit in the caravan and eat. That way we can travel far-"

"I'M NOT CLEANING UP THE CARAVAN AGAIN." The woman growled loudly. A "meep" followed by a very submissive "yes dear" was heard. She turned to the Huntresses-in-training. "We'll be a couple of hours before we continue on."

 **A/N** While I _could_ end this as a one-shot here, I have a storyline with a definitive end, so I'll just keep going. Like I said, one chapter a week. Don't worry, OC's are only supporting roles, they're gone by next chapter probs. As always, feedback is much appreciated. Review or PM me with your thoughts! Follow and fave... eh. if you want.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Alright, chapter 2 up, as promised, on a Tuesday. Lol it's going up on a Tuesday… I just had my last summer class yesterday, so I've never loved Tuesday so much... So, I tried updating this, but the site was going all weird on me, so I'm just re-updating this. Moving on, here's the next one!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the characters involved, with the exception of the four minor OCs and the story.

 **Chapter 2**

"Blake, see anything?" Weiss asked.

"All clear so far!" Blake called from her high vantage point.

"IT'S NOT CLEAR BECAUSE THERE'S TREES! THIS ISN'T A GRIMM-DAMNED FIELD!" shouted the elderly Feirdon.

"Dad, it's an expression," the younger man deadpanned from the driver's seat of the caravan.

The motley crew had been travelling for a good part of the morning without any incident. Surprising enough, since the patriarch was constantly yelling nonsensical babbles and obscenities while his wife shrieked back at him with as equally irrelevant phrases or expletives.

 _You'd think all that negativity would attract Grimm, but we haven't been attacked once_. Ruby thought as she scanned the area.

The forest was beautiful: bronze and golden coloured leaves adorned the tall trees, full and healthy; green shrubbery was scattered among their surroundings, blending with the rest of the foliage. Red berries dotted the bushes whilst lime-green grass bent at the weight of their footfalls. The soil was dark and slightly moist, but compacted easily as they trudged along. The Feirdon caravan carved two gouges in the earth where it rolled along, behind the four teenagers.

While the setting was pleasant, the vehicle they were protecting was rather out of place. The caravan itself was a rectangular object with four wheels, each a meter in diameter and half as thick. The chassis resembled that of a standard commercial mini-van. However, where normally opaque metal would covered the steel frame, there was instead a semi-transparent glass/metal hybrid alloy of a sort, created by the Feirdon family. "Secret family recipe" Donna had said with a mischievous wink. Ruby could see the two elderly members arguing inside, right through the body of the vehicle at that moment, along with all the supplies, materials, and equipment of their independent business, neatly packed inside the prototype van.

An ominous growl emanated from the bushes. Everyone quieted immediately. Ruby quickly leapt in front of the vehicle, drawing her beloved Crescent Rose out, staying in a low defensive stance. Her teammates did the same for each side of the vehicle. Weiss circled around the rear of the vehicle, brandishing Myrtenaster, her multi-dust action rapier, in a series twirls and thrusts. Spinning the adjustable dust cartridge to red, she stood at the ready. Blake held the right side, drawing Gambol Shroud and holding both sword and cleaver/sheath in each hand, its ribbon hanging slack on her upper arm. Her hand fingered the trigger on Gambol's hilt, announcing her readiness to switch to its firearm mode. Yang assumed the left guard, dropping into a boxing stance with Ember Celica equipped. A loud _cha-chuck_ came from each of her hands, signalling the loading of its shotgun shells.

A black blur dashed out of the bushes, approaching the front of the car at high speed. Ruby took aim behind her, and fired Crescent Rose's trigger, launching herself into the air, above the beast. Another shot fired into the air allowed her to fall at a controlled, accelerated rate. Swinging her scythe downward with the momentum, the blunt end of Crescent Rose caved in the creature's skull with ease. It twitched twice, then stayed still. Cautiously, the reaper walked up to the corpse. Her team stayed wary for other potential surprises from the unknown wilds.

"It's just a beowolf." Ruby analyzed. Amidst the black smoke rising from it, the body was furry and easily twice as tall as her, with a humanoid appearance, but oversized canine paws as its feet and sharp claws for hands. The most distinctive feature was the wolf-like white bone skull atop its body with empty eyes and blood-red lines drawing from the sockets towards the back of the skull and down its spine.

"A single beowolf? Where's the pack?" Weiss questioned.

"Maybe it was a lone wolf?" Yang suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. It earned a glare from all three of her teammates.

"Jokes aside, I don't see why it would be alone. Let's just keep moving before the rest show up." Blake urged.

As if on cue, howling emanated from all around them. Evil red eyes glowered with hatred at the group in the small forest clearing. Slowly, the red gleaming shifted, to show a mass wall of black fur, dotted with white bones. They were surrounded.

"Speak of the devil…" Weiss huffed.

"YA WANNA PIECE OF THE OLD F SQUARED EH?! WELL COME AND GET SOME!" The patriarch cried from the van, attempting to get out of the sole safe shelter for miles around. The boisterous man was cut off by his wife putting a cloth over his mouth, instantly knocking him out, shrieking at his unconscious form many a cuss about needless risk and too much activity.

"How many are there?!" Jorum asked.

Yang dropped her stance and attempted to count, "eh, about twenty-ish?"

"Twenty?!"

"That doesn't seem fair." Weiss criticized.

"I will risk my life if need be! For my family!" he cried, standing up at full attention, like a military man and even drawing a dust rifle and saluting with it.

"… I meant not fair for them, but thank you anyways." Weiss mumbled, not wanting to bruise the man's pride.

"We've got this! Team RWBY go!" Ruby cried, as she and her team leapt into action.

* * *

With some help (read: little to none) from Jorum Feirdon and his own dust rifle guarding the caravan, they made quick work of the pack and continued on their way, reaching the extraction point without any more incidents and half an hour earlier than was expected.

As team RWBY was getting on the bullhead, their leader was pulled aside by the younger Feirdon couple.

"We couldn't help but overhear this morning that it was your birthday…" Jorum began.

"And we wanted to give something, not just as a birthday present, but a gift of gratitude." Donna finished, holding out a colorfully wrapped box.

"It's not much, but we figured you could find some use for it. If not yourself, then someone else." Jorum explained.

Ruby gave them each a quick hug with appreciation, "Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Feirdon! I'll make sure to open it when I get back to Beacon!"

She turned around to walk back, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Donna with another package in her hand, wrapped in plain manila-coloured paper.

"Wait! Before you go, we have something else. Well not us specifically…"

Jorum stepped in, "Before you young ladies stepped in to help us, there was another man, a Hunter, beforehand. He said to give this to the leader of our escort…" He took the box from his wife and gave it to the now-sixteen-year-old, who had a puzzled look on her face.

She looked down at the box, wrapped in generic brown paper, and noticed a white slip sticking to it. It read ' _Do not open until 22:00 today'._

Unsure of what to do, Ruby looked back at the two adults, "uh…thanks?" They both shrugged their shoulders. They were as clueless as she was.

"Ruby come on! Let's go home and celebrate!" She heard Yang call.

She zipped towards the bullhead and got on. Standing near the opened hatch, she could see the innovative Feirdon family on the ground, looking back up and waving goodbye to her. She waved back with a smile on her face as the aircraft receded further from the clearing. They were heading home.

 **A/N** Oh, the return to Beacon, what I have in store for you guys… Anyways, if you read it and liked it, leave a review! If you don't like it or have ideas, also leave a review! Either way, some feedback is all I'm looking for. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** Alright, here ya go! Not much to say about this one except, enjoy!

The bullhead touched down at the main courtyard and the four girls were welcomed back with the breath-taking sight of Beacon Academy in all its magnificence. Students were starting to crowd around the yard where they landed, the majority of the crowd being first years.

No sooner as team RWBY stepped off, the PA system rang out, "Team RWBY report to the Headmaster's office for mission debrief."

The crowd scattered as the huntresses-in-training walked towards the grandiose clock tower.

Warily looking around, Ruby was disappointed to not see their sister team, team JNPR, waiting around.

"Too bad Jaune and the rest of JNPR isn't here. Where are they?" She asked her friends.

"They were sent on a mission yesterday too, weren't they?" Yang tried to remember.

"They were." Blake confirmed.

"Oh don't worry about them. With their prowess, they'll be back soon enough. We have a more pressing concern: the field report." Weiss sighed. The rest of them groaned in suit as they reached the office of the headmaster.

* * *

His chocolate eyes scanned across all of them, making contact with each. They all flinched as he locked eyes with them individually. There was no ill intent with the eye contact, he was just that intimidating, and his calmness didn't harbour in them any relaxation.

"…"

"…"

He broke the silence first.

"So that's your field report?"

Chocolate eyes locked with innocent silver.

"Yup."

Chocolate moved on.

"You travelled amicably with your charges…"

Cold ice thawed into a puddle.

"They _were_ very hospitable…"

Chocolate moved on.

"You were ambushed by a pack of twenty beowolves."

Hardened amber melted into honey.

"Twenty _ish_ …"

Chocolate moved on.

"And no other incidents happened besides this?"

Lilac wilted under the gaze. Weak jazz hands were displayed.

"Surprise?"

He chuckled behind his folded hands. None of them knew what he was thinking. Was it funny how there was only one incident with Grimm? Maybe the whole lack of excitement in the mission was humorous? Or perhaps Yang's jazz hands were really **that** pathetic?

"The mission, as I see it, is a success then." He announced.

Ruby quizzically looked at the headmaster.

"Professor, was there anything wrong?" she asked.

He looked back at his protégé student. Despite the admiration he felt, his face revealed nothing to them as he responded, "No Ruby, there isn't anything wrong. In fact, I am well pleased with it."

Ruby looked to her partner, the more adept with politically correct terminology and tactful conversation, "I think, Headmaster, what we're trying to ask is, was there anything different or out of place with our mission as compared to other missions?"

His eyes twinkled with an unknown emotion, "No, I do not hold any suspicions on this mission, nor do I begrudge the lacklustre results you have described."

"…"

"…"

"Soooo… Can we go?"

He sighed with a grin, "Yes you may. Your report has been filed. I believe Team JNPR will be arriving shortly, if you wanted to greet them upon their return."

The four slowly turned and walked away, before his voice rang out in the office once more.

"Oh and Ruby?"

They all froze. The diminutive leader turned to face him with a nervous expression, "Yes Professor?" she squeaked uncomfortably.

"Happy Birthday."

His eyes stared into hers once more. Pride. That was the emotion.

"Thanks?"

He looked down at his desk, raising the mug of coffee to his lips as he flicked through his scroll. Understanding the conclusion of the dialogue, Ruby turned and sped towards where her team was waiting at the door, her combat boots squelching more loudly than normal on the polished floor of the office.

* * *

"So how was your mission?" Ruby asked her fellow leader, Jaune Arc.

The blonde was lying his head on the cafeteria table, gazing distantly. His eyes were glazed over and he had dark bags under them.

"Ehh… it was uneventful for the most paaaaaarrrrhhhhht…." The last word stretched into a yawn.

"Our fearless leader prowled the dangerous streets the whole night! Lurking in the shadows, waiting for dastardly thieves to make their move. Then once in range, he struck! Leaping from the roof, he beat his foes into submission with his bare hands, before stringing them up with a note in the shape of a bat for the local law enforcement to take in!" Nora, the bubbly and hyperactive personality of JNPR, recounted vividly.

"While he meted out justice upon the lowlifes of the city, we, his more superior compatriots…"

"Hey!" he cried indignantly. Nora ignored him.

"…were in the Hall of Justice, watching the world satellite surveillance system for major trouble, like giant asteroids heading towards Remnant which required the use of our superpowers to destroy, or our arch-nemesis, the Uberman Darksandwich and his legion of Pancakes!" she drabbled. The ever-quiet martial artist Lie Ren paraphrased his best friend's rambling.

"Jaune went out for a snack run and was attacked by some hoodlums. He beat them… all by himself…" Ren paused, mentally recounted the event, shook his head, and continued translating the Nora-speak, "While he was doing that, we were on the outskirts of the wall, keeping tabs on our mission objective: ensuring the safety of the late night construction crew by watching out for Grimm."

"You know, I might not show it in class much, but I _have_ improved in combat!" Jaune sighed exasperated.

"What I don't get is why a graveyard shift?" Pyrrha asked. Even the seemingly invincible girl was yawning, albeit hidden under her hands, as such formalities were ingrained into her from her youth.

"Well, at least we don't have homework, right guys?" Ruby cheered. Six simultaneous groans were the response.

"Awww I thought you guys would've finished it _before_ the weekend!" Ruby inquired.

"We didn't get everything done… wait, how did _you_ finish your homework already?!" Jaune turned to look at his fellow leader, incredulity upon his face. Ruby always needed coaxing with homework, so it probably took the effort of Wei-

"Don't look at me. She did it all on her own." Weiss cut in before Jaune could even face her. He turned back to Ruby, "Why did you finish it so quickly?"

The rest of his team leaned in, listening intently to the girl's reason. Her face made a small frown.

"Well… you see… wehadamissionovertheweekendandithoughtishoulddoitsoidon'thavetodoitwhenigetbackandthenicanjustrelaxonmybirthday." Due to the absence of rose petals, they could all tell she wasn't using her semblance. It was harder to believe she spoke so fast so naturally. Nora was the first to understand the run-on sentence.

"IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY?! AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?!"

Ruby's head shot up in surprise. Wait, didn't tell? But she made sure to get…

"YANG - ack!" She was cut off by Nora's signature bone-crushing hug. Spinning her around whilst still in her iron grip, Nora scolded Ruby for not telling, forgave her for the ordeal, and then squealed in her ear many birthday celebrations while jumping up and down. With Ren's intervention, the bubbly ginger put down her unfortunate victim, who took in a long gasp of sweet oxygen.

"Weeell, as fun as this has been, we gotta do that assignment for Port. Let's go Blake!" Yang walked away at a brisk pace, dragging her partner by the elbow, who was still engrossed in her book, and not risking a backward glance. Ruby glared at the back of her sister's head, before turning to the rest of her friends, "So I guess you guys have to go too?"

Ren nodded, "Nora and I have the same assignment." He proceeded to empty his plate and walk off in the direction of the dormitories. Nora followed close behind, asking a multitude of questions regarding their assignment.

"Awww, I gotta finish that paper on Dust…" Jaune frowned. Then he perked up, "Hey, Pyrrha…"

"Yes Jaune?" Pyrrha's smile seemed to grow at her leader's mention of her.

"Do you think, maybe you could, I dunno, help me out with that paper?"

Pyrrha smiled wider than one would think possible at the question. She opened her mouth to answer.

"Let's go Arc."

And it dropped to the floor as Weiss grabbed her partner by the back of his hoodie and proceeded to drag him in the direction of the library. Jaune stammered behind her.

"But, but, Weiss, I wanted to study with Pyrrha!" She glared at him. He backpedaled, "Not that I'm complaining for the help! But uh…why?" he added after a moment.

She crossed her arms. Her voice was emotionless when she answered, "Unlike you, Pyrrha has finished her assignments just like Ruby. It would be unfair to take up our partners' free time, when they could be using it to TRAIN!" She hollered over her shoulder before continuing, "And besides, I'm the most logical choice when it comes to the subject of Dust." She ended haughtily.

"You've got a point there."

"Pfft. Of course I do."

"How come you're helping me, anyways? You didn't finish it either?" he asked.

A small "hmph" was his answer as he was dragged away, like a prisoner of war to a work camp.

"Help me!" he mouthed to the two girls at the table. Pyrrha was still surprised, having not yet picked her jaw up off the floor. Ruby was mentally writing his epitaph while laughing at the situation her best friend now had to survive: studying with an irritated and driven Weiss Schnee.

"Welp, guess it's just you and me now Pyrrha. Whatcha wanna do?" She turned to the Mistralian. The girl in question shook her head to clear her thoughts. What to do? There was a multitude of things to do at Beacon. One could never grow bored, if only one could choose from the diverse selection.

"I'm not quite sure Ruby." She answered honestly. Normally, she would be helping Jaune with his homework, whether it was Grimm studies, history, dust, aura, training, heck, any and all subjects he struggled in (which was a majority of them), she would help. That's just what a great partner she was. It wasn't like she was trying to spend time with him. Nooo, not at all.

"Wanna spar? I could definitely go for sparring! I mean, the two most powerful first years duking it out? Well, second-years in a couple months' time, but to- _may_ -to, to- _mah_ -to! So what do you say?" Ruby asked, silver eyes shining with hope. Spending some time with _at least one_ friend on her birthday would be good enough.

"Well, I'm pretty tired from the stakeout last night…" she started. Ruby visibly deflated at that. Just then, her scroll went off.

"Hold on Ruby…" She checked her messages, a new one having just been received from her cru-…err, leader.

While Pyrrha checked her scroll, Ruby was silently attempting to find entertainment.

' _What can I do? Everyone's doing homework! I mean, I_ _ **could**_ _sit in and help them out…but that's so boring! Besides, the only ones who probably need help would be Jaune or Nora, and Nora has Ren, who is super focused and I would probably get caught up in Nora's antics and just distract them more. Then Jaune…is studying with Weiss *shiver* Nope. Not happening. And Pyrrha does looks really tired, so I shouldn't push her. She should probably get some rest! *sigh* I guess I'll just tune Crescent Rose and have a snack or listen to music…'_

"Hey Ruby, let's do some marksmanship training!" Pyrrha jostled her from her thoughts with bounce in her voice.

"Say what now?" Ruby responded, quite surprised that the Amazonian still had such energy.

"Target practice? Shooting? Something similar!"

"Are you sure? I mean, you look tired, and I don't want to keep you up or anything."

"You're quite right, I'm too tired to have a sparring match," Ruby's shoulders drooped even more.

"But I don't see the harm in practicing other skills. Skills that don't require as much energy, anyways." the warrior ended positively.

Ruby beamed at the idea, "Let's go!"

 **A/N** Tadaa! Another chapter done! Oh Weiss, what are you doing, ruining the ships?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** Sorry I'm posting at a later time than normal. However, it's still on Tuesday! Anywho, responses!

Marctea23: You're gonna hate me at the end of this fic or think me a troll… maybe both…

TehUnoman: Yeah, Oz and Tegs are tight, but they're not a bromance like OzCard: pissing off their female compatriots is a fave pastime.

I digress. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 4**

* _Bang!*_

Another shot went off from Crescent Rose. And again, another target was punctured dead center with the sniper caliber bullets.

"Another bullseye. Very impressive Ruby!" Pyrrha chimed from her left side.

"Pshaawww that was nothing! I can shoot like that from as far as 200 meters!" she brushed off the praise in slight embarrassment.

"You've trained very hard to have such skill. How far away can you accurately hit a target?" the Spartan asked, lining her own sights.

"Well… I haven't actually checked." She murmured.

 _*Bang!*_

A shot from Pyrrha's rifle went off. Just like Ruby's, it went right through the center of her target.

"What say we have a contest?" she suggested.

Ruby perked up, "Oooh, what kind of contest?"

"First to miss a bullseye loses?"

Ruby grinned, "Alright, but after every shot, we move back 20 meters."

"Alright!"

"And no semblance!"

Pyrrha frowned. It would be much more challenging for her. Then again, she normally used her semblance to redirect _other_ people's movements, never her own nor objects belonging to her.

"Deal. I accept your challenge!"

* * *

A small pile of bullet casings littered the floor before the two girls, who were refilling their magazine clips. The winner was Ruby, achieving a distance of 160 meters before missing. Pyrrha had lost at 120 meters, which was still rather impressive, considering she didn't have a long range scope like Ruby. While their competition had finished early, they continued practicing late into the afternoon.

It was cathartic to them, in a way. They would load, aim, steady, fire, reload, and do it again. At the end of their session, both found themselves in a calm and content silence whilst sitting in some chairs.

"So… Jaune took on a group of thieves alone?" Ruby inquired. She was still amazed at that fact.

Pyrrha hummed in agreement, "We didn't see him physically take them on, but we saw the aftermath. Nora _was_ correct in that he tied them up…" she thought back. She was pleasantly surprised how well his training was paying off.

"Guess we're _all_ getting stronger as we get older, huh?" Ruby was happy for her friends. They were all growing up, and growing closer, together, like a big family.

"Speaking of older, why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday?" Pyrrha asked. Ruby groaned, "It was Yang's fault! Normally I'd tell all my friends a week before so they could prepare a party and gifts and stuff for the day, but I guess I kinda got caught up with school and then we got our mission. Yang offered to tell everyone so I just said 'sure' and left it as that… guess she forgot too!" She chuckled at the end, which in turn caused Pyrrha to follow suit.

"I'm sure she'll make it up to you somehow." The red-hair comforted.

"I know she will! That's why I'm not mad. I wouldn't be surprised if she was planning something right now!" Ruby beamed as she got up and replaced Crescent Rose in its holster, "Let's go back to the dorms. I'm gonna freshen up before dinner!"

* * *

Ruby skipped down the hallway with a smile, Pyrrha trailing behind her at a slower pace to answer her scroll messages. As they reached their dorms, noise could be heard from JNPR's side.

* _clang*_

"I said be careful Weiss!"

"It's not _my_ fault that was there!"

* _bong*_

"Oww! Why was that bowl up there?!"

"Oooh, can I try some?"

"Nora do your homework!"

"Awww…"

* _splat*_

"This shouldn't taste like that! Ren stir more! You said you've done this before!"

"Jaune I have no elbow room!"

"Gahh…Nora, take these books away!"

Pyrrha and Ruby stood outside the dorm, both curious as to the goings-on but not really caring.

"Well, I guess you should go inside…" Ruby suggested.

Pyrrha nodded, then inched towards the door. She rapped her knuckles lightly on the wood. All ruckus ceased after she knocked. The previous noise turned into scrambling.

"I'll get it!"

"I wanna open it!"

"Nora finish your homework!"

"Awww…"

" _I'll_ get it."

"You keep working on _that_!"

" _You_ have to finish _this_ first!"

"Enough. I'll get it!"

The door opened a crack. Pyrrha stared into the magenta eyes hiding behind the frame.

"Hello Ren, may I come in?"

Ren opened the door enough to make his face visible to the two girls outside.

"Hi Ren!" Ruby called over Pyrrha's shoulder.

Ren looked at Pyrrha and nodded. In one quick movement, he traded places with Pyrrha, who closed the door behind her, leaving Ren to face Ruby.

"Hi Ruby. Did you want me to get Weiss?"

"Does Jaune still need help? Cuz that's fine if he does! I was just walking with Pyrrha back to the dorms. Just tell Weiss I'm in our room!"

"I'll be sure to let her know." he replied.

Just then, the door opened slightly once again.

"Pssst. Ren!" a soft, high-pitched voice called from beyond.

"Excuse me a sec Ruby." Ren leaned back as the voice whispered its message. Ren hummed noncommittally at periods through the interaction with the unseen person, before turning back to the reaper in front of him.

"Weiss is just finishing up. She'll be out in the next half-hour or so." he announced.

"Kay, thanks Ren!" Ruby replied, before turning and skipping towards her own team's dorm room. As she turned to close the door behind her, she saw Ren still standing outside his own room with the door closed. Curious, she asked him, "Aren't you going back in?"

His eyes twinkled in mischief as he smiled, "I'll let them handle Nora for a couple more minutes."

Ruby grinned with him, closed the door, and then turned to face the room. Gathering some clothes from her drawers, she walked through the bathroom door and closed it behind her.

Her shower was soothing, the warm water working miracles to calm her mind. She hummed a song to herself as she changed and discarded her old clothes in a hamper. She turned around.

"GAAAAH SUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she shrieked.

Lo and behold, the monkey-faunus was there, in the middle of the dorm with a bunch of bananas in his hand. His blond tail was frozen in place with the rest of his body. His mouth was full of food, which he proceeded to swallow, before answering.

"Heeey Ruby! How's it going? I'm just chilling here…in your guy's room… uhhh… waiting for Blake! Yeah! So I've been waiting a while now, guess she isn't coming back yet? That's too bad. Welp gottagoi'llseeyouaroundanddon'ttellWeissitookyourSchneebananas!"

He rushed towards the entrance, trying to push past Ruby. But she stood stock-still, and like a rock, didn't budge one bit. She shoved Sun back into the middle of the room.

Surprised at the unexpected Yang-esque action coming from the young prodigy, he didn't recover from the shove and fell onto his backside.

He looked up to see an annoyed look on the cape-wearer's face.

"So what was the real reason you were in here Sun? Cuz those bananas say…otherwise…" her sentence died out as her eyes fell from his gaze to his unbuttoned shirt.

Sun felt extremely flustered that _Ruby_ of all people, was gawking at his body. Sure it was nice to be admired for his looks, because he was pretty good-looking if he didn't say so himself. But dude, waaayyy too young.

While he was assuming she was staring at his impressive bod, her eyes zeroed in onto the shirt itself. She stomped over to him. Even as he backed up to the window, she pressed on, and leant down so that his eyes met hers.

He smiled awkwardly at her, sweating at their close proximity. Her glare didn't waver. She stretched her hand towards his shirt. He froze completely, unsure as to what would happen, his only thought was ' _I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead'_ He breathed out in relief when her hand didn't rove over his exposed flesh, but instead, pinched his shirt, and plucked a crumb.

She held the remnant of baked confectionary in between their faces, "Sun… What. Is. This?"

Relieved that the tension between them was **not** sexual, he chuckled, "Oh that? That was just from a cookie…I found…in the…drawers…" his voice grew smaller as his mind connected the dots. Cookie. Drawer. Him eating. RWBY's room. Ruby. Team leader. Cookie-lover.

"Oh fuuuu-"

"SUN WUKONG THERE WON'T BE A PIECE LEFT OF YOU LEFT WHEN IM DONE WITH YOU!"

Her voice literally blew him out the window. He took advantage of this fact and ran through the courtyard, yelling a thousand apologies back, "I'll make it up to you, I swear!" being one of his more prevalent appeasements.

She yelled back threats, jeers, and taunts, "GET BACK HERE YOU OVERGROWN CHIMP!"

The monkey faunus, still screaming apologies, exited to the right of the courtyard, outside her field of vision. Ruby, seeking to avenge her lost treat, went to pursue.

Just as she was climbing over the windowsill, the door opened and her partner walked in. She stopped halfway out the window, staring as her partner put her books on the desk, and proceeded to check her scroll.

"So how was training with Pyrrha?" Weiss asked, face still glued to the scroll. Ruby zipped back into the room and sat in the chair next to the desk. Red rose petals fluttered about.

"It went pretty well! We had a competition which I won, then we just continued shooting. What about you? Did Jaune give any troubles? And why weren't you in the library?"

Weiss turned to face her with a neutral, almost bored expression, "He was fine actually. Still a dunce, but he made no advances and focused on the task at hand. It turns out he already checked out the required books and had left them in his room, so I decided we should just do the paper there anyways. Besides, that makes it closer to _our_ room too, so I could travel less." She explained.

Ruby hummed in satisfaction. There was still one thing nagging her mind, "What was all that racket back there you guys were making? I mean, it was pretty loud, me and Pyrrha-"

"Pyrrha and I-"

"Could hear it from outside."

"That was a… side project that the goof was working on. He seemed to need an extra hand, so I offered and he gladly accepted. Ren and Nora, as in, Ren assisted too once they were done with their assignments."

She turned back to her scroll and browsed its content. Ruby was content with the answers given. Analyzing her partner's visage, she noticed something off.

"Hey Weiss, you're wearing your powder wrong."

The heiress raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean powder? I'm not wearing any-"

She froze. Her eyes widened. Quickly, she walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. On the right side of her face, on her cheekbone was a small patch of white powder. Her hands quickly turned on the faucets as she started the water. She could feel perspiration starting to form in her hair at the self-induced stress. She hastily wet a towel and put the damp cloth to the side dirtied by the foreign contaminant.

Ruby looked from the doorframe quizzically, "Why didn't you just apply more and smooth it out? I mean, you've got tons of make-up…"

Weiss turned back to her with a nervous smile, "I-I guess I could have, couldn't I? Heh heh. Oh well, too late now. Thanks Ruby, for noticing that ... blunder" She expressed.

Ruby smiled back, "What are partners for, if not to help each other? Anyways, let's go for dinner!" she grabbed her partner's hand and dragged her along to the cafeteria, messaging her sister to meet them there too.

 **A/N** Writing is hard after a while. I hate writer's block with a passion. That's sorta where Sun jumped in and helped out lol. 4/5 guys, I swear it'll all come to an end next week, then I'm back to my other two fics. Check them out if you're interested (shameless self-advertising!). As always, feedback is appreciated, so leave some in a review, or PM me. Either or, I'm not picky.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** I am truly and terribly sorry for having this a day late. Unfortunately, my power went out yesterday, and therefore, my internet was not working. I would've done it sooner, but it happened like 10am and I didn't get out of bed until 1 cuz, y'know, summer vacation. It lasted until 4pm, while I was at work from 3-11. Anyways, all excuses and my thousand apologies aside, let's mosey along now!

knight7572: Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?

Marctea23: Humour was the main focus there lol.

 **Chapter 5**

Dinner was uneventful for the most part. Nora was still Nora, so it was never a dull moment, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred. At least that was what Ruby thought. Sure, Weiss glared at Jaune a little harder every time he looked at her, but that was kinda normal now, just without the cheesy pick-up lines he would try to use, or the guitar. Funny how they were just working together a couple hours before.

Ren was still quiet, Blake was still reading, Pyrrha was eating silently, Yang… Yang was paying close attention to each and every one of them. She was squinting scrupulously at everyone, a serious line on her face, but it reverted back to the casual enigmatic smile she usually wore. That smile held some mischief whenever it faced Ruby's way. After dinner they had walked to their dorms and separated into the rooms, RWBY into theirs, JNPR doing the same with their own.

Ruby was writing down her observations and event occurences of the day within her journal. It was something nobody really paid attention to. After all, it just looked like she was doodling as she would in Port's class.

"Hey Ruby!" Yang called, "Would you mind getting me some lube? I just finished the last bottle."

"YANG XIAO LONG! WHY WOULD YOU EVER HAVE SUCH A THING?!" Weiss screeched undignified.

"For Ember Celica! Jeez Weiss, you're such a perv!" Yang replied with a wink. This did nothing but turn the heiress' face red as a tomato. With embarrassment or anger, one couldn't tell.

"Sure thing sis, just gimme a moment," Ruby replied, unsure as to what to make of Weiss' outburst. She always did this sort of thing for Yang, what's wrong with that?

Closing her journal, she exited the dorm to head to the lockers. She could hear JNPR, specifically Nora, doing something. However it was impossible to hear behind the door. Shrugging, she continued on.

Passing through the courtyard, she saw the upperclassmen team CFVY lounging around on the benches. In the hallways she saw team CRDL, throwing a Grifball around, and Miss Goodwitch confiscating it for smashing through a window. All in all, it was a rather relaxed day.

Reaching her locker, she punched in the combination. The locker door swung open, revealing its contents. Crescent Rose lay upon a silk pillow with flowers around, a picture of it and its owner in a friendly embrace at the back. On the upper shelves were munitions boxes, cloths, tools, and her objective of mechanical oil.

Ruby took two containers of the oil out and was about to close the locker when something caught her eye: right next to Crescent Rose was a manila-coloured wrapped package. Looking closely, she read the note on it: " _Do not open until 21:00 today."_ Ruby checked her watch.

"8:03… hmmm, might as well bring it with me!" she spoke to herself.

With two bottles of oil and the brown package with generic note in hand, she closed her locker and started to walk back the way she came.

The halls were quiet…too quiet. That's what Ruby thought anyways. Activity didn't die down until 9 to even as late as 10pm. Not that she minded. It was a nice, relaxed silence as she strolled through the corridors. In no time, she made it back to her dorm. Just like the halls before, it was eerily quiet. The noise from JNPR's room, or the absence thereof, put her on edge. How could Nora not talk? Then again, maybe she was listening to music? The situation puzzled her. Even her own dorm was quiet. Nobody was talking, but that might just mean they were all busy.

Going to sate her curiosity, Ruby waved her scroll in front of the scanner. The light switched green and she heard the lock click unlocked. Slowly, she opened the door to see complete darkness. Nary a person was seen from the doorway. She crept in, unsure as to what to make of the seemingly vacant room.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on, blinding her. At the same time, her arms were gripped and bound to her sides by an unseen force.

"SURPRISE!"

Her eyesight adjusting, she could now see she was being hugged. A group hug with all her friends. Her heart warmed at the feeling. She couldn't help but sigh contentedly.

"D'awww, you guys!" she started.

"Happy Birthday to you…" the chorus started.

She grinned from ear to ear as Ren brought out a cake with two numerical candles reading '16' on top. Someone had dimmed the lights again so the glow of the candles was dominant.

They had made a semicircle around her and the three tiered cake of red fondant.

The group ended the tune with clapping.

"Alright sis! You know the drill. Make a wish and blow the candles!"

Ruby closed her eyes. What should she wish for?

"I wish…"

She smiled, knowing exactly what to wish for, and blew out the candles.

"Alright! So who wants cake?" Yang announced once Ruby cut the first slice. Jaune had taken over the cake cutting, putting slices on small plates with forks.

"So when did you guys make a cake?" Ruby asked her partner through cake-filled mouth.

Weiss shifted to face her, "You know that side project Jaune was working on?"

Ruby nodded.

"And that extra 'powder' I had on?"

Ruby nodded again.

"Yeah, that was when we made it."

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting that.

"Wait, so how did you plan _all_ of this in like one day?"

"When Yang completely forgot to mention it?" Weiss added.

Ruby nodded again in response before biting the piece of cake off her fork. A slap on the back caused her to cough it up back onto her plate.

"That's what big sister Yang is gonna share with you now!" Yang quipped from Ruby's right side.

"You see, it all started this morning when you woke me up. I actually forgot to talk to everyone about it, so I thought up this whole shindig on the spot. I told Blake and Weiss when you were talking to the Feirdons, before we got on the bullhead. Then, it was just a matter of everyone playing their part."

"Wait, so you guys _didn't_ have homework?"

"Oh we had homework, but we finished as fast as we could to make all this possible."

Ruby pointed to Blake and Yang, "So in the library?"

Blake gestured around, "Decorations."

She pointed to Weiss, "And you did the cake."

Weiss hummed in confirmation, "With help from Jaune, Ren, and Nora."

Ruby pointed at her red-haired counterpart, "And Pyrrha?"

The Spartan responded, "Keep you busy so everyone else could prepared in secret."

She had one more question, "What about Sun?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Bursting through the door, the blond flew forward and prostrated himself at Ruby's feet, holding out a tube of cookie dough.

"Please don't kill me…" he whispered under his breath.

Ruby, unsure what to do, gingerly took the offering from him before looking at her teammates with just as much confusion.

"Sun, what are you doing here?" Blake asked.

At the sound of her voice he jumped up, trying to play it suave and nonchalant, "Hey Blake! Oh I was just in the neighbourhood and thought 'why not see RWBY and JNPR?', so here I am! And I had a gift for Ruby too!" he rushed with nervousness. Blake looked at him suspiciously.

Nora saved him from further scrutiny, "Oh. My. GOSH. PRESENTS!"

Ruby dropped her cookie dough in surprise at the various gifts her friends presented to her. She took them one by one. First was Nora, with accompanying dialogue.

"Okay, so I thought you had such a cute doggy pillow and super cool beowolf blindfold, I asked, "What does Ruby NOT have that's canine related?" And tadaaaa!"

Ruby opened the wrappings to reveal a Beowolf plushie.

"Aww Nora, it's so cute!"

Nora pulled out her own plushie with collector tag, "And it comes with different ones! Like my Ursa plushie, and then there's the Nevermore plushie, and even a Death Stalker with a Nightlight tail!"

Ruby put it aside to unwrap Jaune and Ren's joint present. It was square, hard, and thick. The gift was, to Ruby's surprise,

"A…book?"

"Read the title," Ren advised.

"'Martial Arts and Dancing: Two Halves of a Whole'?"

Jaune chuckled, "Turns out, there's lots in common with dancing and fighting, and who better to teach them than our resident Martial Artist? I mean, I can probably help with the dancing part if Ren's not up for it, especially if Beacon has any more dances…"

"And hand-to-hand combat can be extremely useful in many situations," Ren added.

Ruby smiled awkwardly, grateful, but unsure as to what to make of the oddball gift, "Thanks guys! I might take you up on that offer!"

She turned to Pyrrha and Weiss, who gave her a large box.

She giddily sliced through the bindings. Ruby opened the flaps to reveal…

"Ammo cases? Thanks, Pyrrha, Weiss, but I really don't need any more…"

"This is specialized ammunition, Ruby" Pyrrha cut off.

"You know how I gave Blake those Dust-infused rounds on the train?"

"Yup."

"Basically, we made these ourselves. Pyrrha made the bullets, I supplied the Dust." Weiss explained.

"Ooooooh…"

"…"

"…Can I try some now?"

Weiss sighed with a smile, "Tomorrow at the range. I'm sure Pyrrha wants to see the power of her creations."

Pyrrha smiled in slight embarrassment, "I normally buy them, but I wanted this to be a little special, so I decided to make them instead, which was easy when your semblance can control metal to a degree. Then Weiss helped implement the Dust…"

"And they have a rose decal on the casings!" Ruby fawned over the small engravings on the individual bullets, "I love them!"

"Our turn!" Yang declared, thrusting her and Blake's gift into the reaper's hands.

"Just so you know, I advised against it," Blake interjected before she unwrapped it.

"Uh… Yang? What is this?"

Yang grinned, "It's a hairband!"

"A bad joke," Blake corrected.

"Put it on Ruby!" Yang suggested.

"Um… I don't think I want to…"

Yang's face fell into sadness, "What, you don't like our gift?!" she sniffled for added effects.

"No! No, it's just, isn't it in bad taste?"

"Aww, you're just embarrassed! Come here, lemme help you!"

"Wait, Yang!"

Yang couldn't be stopped. And so, Ruby was forced to wear the hairband, with two floppy pieces of cloth on the top, shaped as if the ears of a dog, in front of her friends, two being faunus.

Their reactions were varied: Nora squeed over them, Jaune and Sun tried to stifle their laughter, Pyrrha looked away awkwardly with a smirk, and Ren coughed into his hands. Yang smiled knowingly, Weiss facepalmed, while Blake scrunched her face and turned away, her bow twitching with her disapproval.

"Now we have a dog, _and_ a cat!" Yang announced, much to everyone's groaning and disappointment.

Yang looked at her partner, "Too soon?"

Blake deadpanned, "Much too soon…"

The rest of the night was relaxed, with the nine of them (Sun decided to stay) talking and nibbling on snacks and soft drinks. A brief call to Ruby's scroll interrupted the celebrations. Her father had called to wish her salutations as well. At the same time, she introduced the rest of her friends (Yang excluded) on video, much to Taiyang's delight at how things at Beacon were shaping up for his youngest.

After the rest of them helped tidy up and left, team RWBY settled in for bed.

"What are these two gifts on the table Ruby?" Weiss asked.

The packages in question were sitting on their communal study table, having been forgotten with the mechanical oil in the swirl of events beforehand.

"Oh hey, thanks for the lube Rubes!" Yang quipped from her bed.

"Please, stop saying that!" Weiss begged.

Blake examined the two presents, "These were the two you got today from the Feirdon's, right?"

Ruby nodded in agreement, "Yeah, they were really nice now that I think about it. They said the second one was from another hunter though. I'm not sure who…"

"Well, open the one from them first." Weiss suggested.

Ruby opened the gift and, to her surprise, found several sheets of workable metal. But it wasn't just any metal.

"It's the Feirdon transparent metal! Secret family recipe!" Ruby winked at no one in particular.

"Oookay. That was a thing…" Yang commented, "Open the other one now!"

Ruby tore open the plain wrapping to reveal a box with a card.

She read it out loud.

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _How's your 16_ _th_ _birthday? Hopefully it's great! I wish I could see you now, but you know me, keeping Signal from falling at the seams while still taking on missions! Anyways, I was in the neighbourhood and figured you were getting a little bored with your old scope and decided to get a new one for you…Oops, I ruined the surprise! Or did I? Anyways, Happy Birthday once more to my favourite niece! Make sure Yang hears this._

 _With love,_

 _Qrow_

"Dick move old man, dick move." Yang huffed under her breath.

"Good old Uncle Qrow. He always knows where we are," Ruby sighed before opening the box.

Blake looked up at her partner lying on the bed, "How does he always know?"

Yang shrugged, "I dunno, he just does."

"But does he use-"

"He. Just. Knows." Yang expressed with some reverence, a pinch of awe, and a boatload of fear.

Within the box, as their uncle had written, there was, indeed, a brand new sniper scope. Along with the scope, there were several blueprints in Qrow's own writing, all based on a specific scythe.

Ruby started drooling over her uncle's gifts in a blissful coma. That is until the objects of her affection were ripped away by the heiress.

"Okay, that's enough out of you!"

"Awww" Ruby pouted.

"You can look them over in the morning. It's time for bed!" Weiss negotiated.

Ruby observed her teammates. They all looked haggard and sleepy as they got into bed. They had been organizing and coordinating all day so that they could make hers special.

She jumped into her own bed, hanging above Weiss', "Okay, I guess goodnight guys!" she called to them.

"Goodnight!" Replied Yang.

"Sleep tight." Weiss yawned.

"Make sure Yang doesn't bite." Blake mumbled.

"If I wasn't so tired, I would actually reply to that." Yang slurred, before letting sleep overcome her.

One by one they drifted off, until Ruby was left to listen to the synchronized breathing and the ticks of the clock. She turned to the side and rethought of the day's events. It wasn't the ideal birthday, what with their mission, and the homework, and how she didn't spend as much time with them as she wanted. But she couldn't help but smile upon the events. They succeeded and returned safely from the mission, she got to train with one of her friends, and the rest of them surprised her with cake, food, and gifts. Were they all a little weird? Most definitely. But she loved each of them dearly, flaws and all. They were more than friends. They were family. And she wouldn't have asked for anyone else.

 **A/N** Yeah, fluffy ending, but I didn't want a long process of establishing deep emotions and circumstantial events leading to romance and such, so the result is something comparison to cotton candy. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this! This will be a milestone for me, being my first completed fic, so thanks to all of you for being even remotely interested!

Fernachos


End file.
